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Self Defense Myths that just Won't Die

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Good article. I do kind of disagree with one of them though. The one about not drawing your weapon until you're ready to shoot. I think a distinction needs to be made between ready to shoot ( as in acquiring a target and firing the weapon) and being ready to shoot ( as in covering a target and being ready to shoot if necessary.

My personal rule is never pull a weapon unless you are willing to use it. That is to say I would never pull a gun to scare someone while having no intention of firing. And it's only limited circumstances that I would draw my weapon without fully intending to fire. I may have my hand on it, I may have it in low ready, but if I point it at something there is almost a 100% chance I am going to squeeze the trigger.
 
One of the worst myths I have heard around my area , mostly from old timers , is " if you have to shoot someone , drag them inside before you call the cops " SMH!!!

Also had an older family member show me a firearm he has and I asked him if he wanted to sell it ( a S&W model 10 ) . He looked at me , laughed , and said , " No way! This is my throw down gun ." I had to explain to him why this was a very bad idea. It took a lot of explaining too. :( :rolleyes:
 
papa said:
One of the worst myths I have heard around my area , mostly from old timers , is " if you have to shoot someone , drag them inside before you call the cops " SMH!!!

Also had an older family member show me a firearm he has and I asked him if he wanted to sell it ( a S&W model 10 ) . He looked at me , laughed , and said , " No way! This is my throw down gun ." I had to explain to him why this was a very bad idea. It took a lot of explaining too. :( :rolleyes:
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That wasn't always a myth. When I was about 15 I was at home alone and I saw someone creeping outside. So I grabbed a shotgun and called the cops. When the cops came it was the county sheriff. He said, and I quote, " Well Bob, it's a big county, sometimes we gotta kill our own snakes. Just make sure he's inside the house before you call us".
 
Bassbob said:
That wasn't always a myth. When I was about 15 I was at home alone and I saw someone creeping outside. So I grabbed a shotgun and called the cops. When the cops came it was the county sheriff. He said, and I quote, " Well Bob, it's a big county, sometimes we gotta kill our own snakes. Just make sure he's inside the house before you call us".
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Yeah I should have been a little clearer. I meant in the last twenty years to today. Even around here in the old days you had to make sure they were in the house .
 
I agree with the partial disagreement (I guess that makes sense?) to the point about not exposing your gun until you are ready to use it. There's a fine line between "brandishing" and "self defense", but I see the author's point that somewhere, tip-toeing on that fine line, is the concept of "deterrence". If a bad actor thinks they have a soft target, but sees a target holding/carrying/possessing a gun...they may think twice.

That doesn't mean "wave your gun around at every bar fight" - which is a distinction I think would elude many people (today's case in point, the panic-buyer due to the Coronavirus). And, as such, I believe the "don't draw unless you're ready to shoot" mantra is simply instructors hedging their bets against common sense no longer being common. "Yeah, but Trainer XYZ said to pull it out and wave it around to make the bad guy run away!" - so trainers err on the opposite side, and say "don't draw unless you're ready to pull the trigger".

It is entirely up to the person, and the situation, as to whether broadcasting the weapon will help the situation...or make it exponentially worse.
 
I know there’s been times where I’ve covertly drawn a gun and held it out of sight (in a jacket pocket, or just behind my hip, or even in the case if my NAA .22mag, palmed it) when the ganglia started twitching, and I thought action was imminent. I’m fairly sure that one of those times, it came across that I was definitely not an unprepared target, and ended it...but it didn’t end at gunpoint.

One other point about drawing that I can’t recall if was covered by Ayoob...that is, be prepared to use it immediately if you are drawing before you need it. It can easily be taken as a bluff...which could also beg the question, would it have blown over if you hadn’t drawn? It's one of those questions that involves the number of angels doing the hustle on a pinhead...
 
And, as a separate post...

One item they didn’t cover, but is one of my particular favorite myths:

“If you shoot someone at 25 yards(or any other longer range...usually a distance outside of 30 feet or so), you won’t be able to justify it”.

I usually get this when I’m practicing at 50 yards with a snubnose.

The lack of logic on this one astounds me, frankly. First off, show me any self defense law that caps the range where legal self defense ends. Second...if I’m shooting at that range, that means I’m being threatened with deadly force at that range. That doesn’t mean a knife, people...that means they have a firearm. And since they’re bullets don’t become magically harmless at that distance...sounds like a threat of death or grave bodily harm to me. Retreat (required—IF POSSIBLE—in my state)? Well, if there’s remarkably good cover (not concealment—there’s a difference) available, it’s probably the better option...but it's not always there. And even if there is...he can still get lucky. A lucky shot in the back is just as lethal as an aimed shot in the front, no?

It's why I strongly urge having the ability to make hits at longer ranges as a good set of skills for the toolbox.
 
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😉🤪
 
The longer range theory also applies to the current "fad" of mass shootings - while you may be standing further away and not personally in danger (yet), but there is an armed assailant firing into a crowd of innocents (see: TX church), and you have the ability to stop that assailant from a distance? I say take the shot, and save some lives - but you have to be able to MAKE the shot.
 
Peglegjoe said:
The longer range theory also applies to the current "fad" of mass shootings - while you may be standing further away and not personally in danger (yet), but there is an armed assailant firing into a crowd of innocents (see: TX church), and you have the ability to stop that assailant from a distance? I say take the shot, and save some lives - but you have to be able to MAKE the shot.
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I agree.

An addendum to that...perhaps another myth that should be addressed is “you MUST carry a high-capacity blaster in case you are in a mass shooting situation”.

If you ever are in that mess...PRECISION SHOOTING will almost certainly be the order of the day. There’s probably going to be traffic behind the shooter, and between you and the shooter. Spray & pray is going to make you part of the problem, not the solution...and someone that catches a round from a “good guy with a gun” trying to end the situation is just as dead as someone killed by the bad guy with a gun.

Addendum—the above in no way implies that you shouldn’t carry a high capacity blaster if you want to; more power to you if that’s your choice.
 
HansGruber said:
I agree.

An addendum to that...perhaps another myth that should be addressed is “you MUST carry a high-capacity blaster in case you are in a mass shooting situation”.

If you ever are in that mess...PRECISION SHOOTING will almost certainly be the order of the day. There’s probably going to be traffic behind the shooter, and between you and the shooter. Spray & pray is going to make you part of the problem, not the solution...and someone that catches a round from a “good guy with a gun” trying to end the situation is just as dead as someone killed by the bad guy with a gun.

Addendum—the above in no way implies that you shouldn’t carry a high capacity blaster if you want to; more power to you if that’s your choice.
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What is this mythical high capacity thing you speak of?

None of my handguns are high capacity they only hold the 17-20 rounds a piece. 😜
 
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